Unix System Laboratories: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:14, 1 May 2018

Revision as of 10:29, 3 May 2018

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| locations = 3

| area_served =

| key_people = {{unbulleted list|[[Roel Pieper]]|Larry Dooling|Michael J. DeFazio|Larry Dooling}}

| industry = {{unbulleted list|[[Software product]]s|[[Information technology consulting]]}}

| products = {{unbulleted list|Operating systems|transaction monitors|C++ language products}}

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| num_employees = 500 (1991)

| parent =

| divisions = {{unbulleted list|UnixUNIX System V Software|Tuxedo|Languages|othersOpen Solutions Software}}

| subsid =

| homepage =

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[[Image:USL office in Summit with room number.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Multi-part room numbers were characteristic of the AT&T heritage of the USL office in Summit]]

{{main|UNIX System V}}

One unit within USL, called the UNIX System V Software business unit and headed by Michael J. DeFazio, was responsible for the development of the UNIX System V base technology.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

The USO/USL staff was heavily involved in the creation of [[SVR4|UNIX System V Release 4]], which shipped in 1989 and was a joint project with [[Sun Microsystems]].<ref name="timeline"/> This work incorporated technology from a variety of Unix-based efforts, including [[UNIX System V]], [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]], and [[Xenix]].<ref name="timeline">{{cite web | url=http://www.unix.org/what_is_unix/history_timeline.html

| title=History and Timeline | publisher=The Open Group | accessdate=December 1, 2017}}</ref> There were additions and new innovations as well from both the AT&T and Sun sides. System V Release 4 debuted at the [[Unix Expo]] trade show in New York in November 1989, in the form of source code availability for it as well as demonstrations from Unix International of SVR4-based applications running on seventeen different vendor platforms.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA41 | title=Hopes of Reunification Highlight Eventful Year for Unix Community | first=Martin | last=Marshall | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=December 18, 1989 | page=41}}</ref>

AnNext USL engaged in an especially arduous effort went into trying to satisfy the requirements of the [[National Computer Security Center]]'s [[Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria]] ("Orange Book") to the B2 level.<ref name="cw-sec">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6P8XXI-B8cC&pg=PA32 | title=AT&T Unix to gain enhanced security | first=Johanna | last=Ambrosio | newspaper=Computerworld | date=October 1, 1990 | page=32}}</ref> This manifested itself in System V Release 4.1 ES (Enhanced Security), which also included generally useful features such as support for dynamic loading of kernel modules.<ref>{{cite news |title=Unix International reviews the Unix System V.4 story so far |authorfirst=William |last=Fellows |date= August 13, 1992 |publisher=Computer Business Review |url=<!--blacklisted http://www.cbronline.com/news/unix_international_reviews_the_unix_system_v4_story_so_far --> |}}</ref>

Following that, USL worked on [[UNIX System V#SVR4.2 / UnixWare|System V Release 4.2]], which was released in June 1992.<ref name="iw-42">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | title=Univel targets UnixWare release for early fall | first=Vance | last=McCarthy | first2=Cate | last2=Corcoran | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=May 11, 1992 | pages=1, 103}}</ref> ''[[InfoWorld]]'' characterized this effort as "at the core of an assault on the enterprise networking market," with a modular architecture that stressed improved support for enterprise- and network-level administration, drivers for both [[Token Ring]] and [[Ethernet]], and a greater ability to run on low-end machine configurations.<ref name="iw-42"/>

Multiprocessing became the focus of the final USL-based OEM release of System V, which was Release 4.2MP, released in December 1993.<ref name="timeline"/>

USL also provided some training and consulting services for Unix systems.<ref name="pr-finalized"/>

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==Other software work==

{{main|Tuxedo (software)}}

Another unit within USL, called the Open Solutions Software business unit and headed by Joel A. Appelbaum, was responsible for other system software that in some way worked in conjunction with Unix.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

The [[Tuxedo (software)|Tuxedo transaction processing middleware]] had also been transferred from elsewhere in AT&T to USL. It had originated as the [[Loop maintenance operations system|Loop Maintenance Operations System]] (LMOS) followed by the Unix Transaction System (UNITS) and was used for projects internally within AT&T. It was then renamed by USL and, as Release 4.0 of what was now called Tuxedo, in 1989 was offered for the first time as a commercial product.<ref>{{cite book | url=<!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=Of6BdiZu9lUC&pg=PT27--> | first=Juan M. | last=Andrade | first2=Mark T. | last2=Carges | first3=Terence J. | last3=Dwyer | first4= Stephen D. | last4=Felts | title=The TUXEDO System: Software for Constructing and Managing Distributed Business Applications | publisher=Addison-Wesley | ___location=Reading, Massachusetts | year=1996 | pages=xxxiii–xxxvi}}</ref>

USL also developed and marketed the OSI Communications Platform, which was an implementation of the [[OSI model|OSI protocols]] for Unix-based networking.<ref name="nw-knowhow">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9 | title=Novell buys into AT&T unit to gain Unix net know-how | first=Ellen | last=Messmer | newspaper=Network World | date=April 15, 1991 | page=9}}</ref>

==C++ language work==

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== Partial spinoff from AT&T ==

In April 1991, USL became partly independent of AT&T when about 22&nbsp;percent of it, worth about $65 million, was sold to eleven outside computer vendors: [[Amdahl Corporation|Amdahl]], [[Motorola]], Novell, Sun, [[International Computers Limited|ICL]], [[Olivetti]], [[Fujitsu]], [[NEC]], [[Oki Electric Industry|OKI Electric]], [[Toshiba]], and the [[Institute for Information Industry]].<ref name="cw-selloff">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8pyWaTBzyoC&pg=PA12 | title=AT&T's Unix sell-off won't sway OSF | first=Johanna | last=Ambrosio | newspaper=Computerworld | date=April 8, 1991 | page=12}}</ref> There was a stated goal to lessen the control AT&T had over Unix, which would lead to USL becoming a publicly-owned company within three years.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>

An AT&T executive said, "AT&T is convinced that the best way to nurture the growth of the open systems movement and to share into it ourselves is to establish an independent Unix Systems Laboratory with the technical guidance of Unix International and the business advice of investors who will ensure that USL is run properly and profitably."<ref name="nw-knowhow"/>

By this point USL had some 500&nbsp;employees, 2400&nbsp;customers, and annual revenue around the $100&nbsp;million mark.<ref name="cw-selloff"/> AT&T said that USL had been profitable since its inception in 1989.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>

By this point USL had some 500&nbsp;employees, 2400&nbsp;customers, and annual revenue around the $100&nbsp;million mark.<ref name="cw-selloff"/> AT&T said that USL had been profitable since its inception in 1989.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>

USL got a new president and CEO in November 1991 when Dooling was replaced by the Dutchman [[Roel Pieper]], formerly chief technical officer of [[Software AG]].<ref name="cwde-roel">{{cite news | url=https://www.computerwoche.de/a/roel-pieper-ist-neuer-chef-der-usl,1143313 | title=Roel Pieper ist neuer Chef der USL | newspaper=Computerwoche von IDG | date=December 6, 1991 | page= | language=German}}</ref>